This international award is given for his work on the development of the two-chamber reaction systems, as well as carbon monoxide releasing molecules, which are an important breakthrough in isotope chemistry and broadly utilized for 13C- and 14C-carbon labeling. The award is given by the International Isotope Society(IIS) and will be presented in June 2018 in Prague at the 13th International Symposium on the Synthesis and Applications of Isotopes and Isotopically Labelled Compounds (http://iis-prague2018.cz/). Isotope labeling studies including human drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic investigations of clinical candidates is a mandatory requirement for obtaining approval from regulative administrations. As such isotopically labeled derivatives are required, which include both cold and radioactive isotope labels. Troels Skrydstrup and his research team have developed new techniques applying transition metal complexes for the late-stage introduction of carbon isotopes, including carbon-11, carbon-13 and carbon-14 into bioactive molecules. In particular, with respect to CADIAC, all the techniques apply isotopically labeled carbon dioxide. The significance and usefulness of the chemistry developed is demonstrated by the decision of the Board of Trustees composed of isotope scientists from Syngenta, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Merck, among others.

Melvin Calvin was the recipient of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his groundbreaking work on the use of carbon-14 labeled compounds for deciphering the light-independent reactions in photosynthesis involving carbon fixation, now known as the Calvin cycle.